Congrats to Borowski...

It was the bottom of the eighth and while the Cubs were going down 1-2-3 and taking a precarious one run lead into the ninth, I was pacing in a rather agitated state and pleading with Dusty not to put Borowski in against the absolute heart of the St. Louis line-up - Pujols, Edmonds, and Rolen. I was reasoning with Dusty - "Please Dusty - don't put Joe in - not against these beasts. Leave Hawkins in - he's been fantastic, and this game is too important. Save Joe for those save situations where we have a 3 run cushion because he's sure to give up at least 2 runs - Dusty please!!!." No matter what reasoning I brought to bear (and I was profuse with the reasons for not putting Joe in) - Dusty just wasn't listening - and sure enough - in the top of the ninth JoeBo strides in and I pulled out my laptop to begin typing a post blasting Dusty for giving up the game by pulling Hawk and putting in Borowski. As my computer was warming up, Pujols hit a shallow fly to left that was caught by Alou - one away. I raised my eyebrows as I pulled up my text editor, still ready to blast Dusty for the poor managment decision that was surely going to cost the Cubs the game. Just as I am ready to type the first few words of this post, Edmonds strikes out - two away. Hmmm... is it possible that Joe Borowski is going to retire Pujols, Edmonds, and Rolen 1-2-3, restore some confidence in Cubdom in his closing abilities, and register a well earned and impressive save? I sat back in my chair and while chewing contemplatively on a straw - Borowski induced Rolen to fly out with a long shot to center - game over - Cubs win! Congratulations Joe! This was an impressive save, and I personally will refrain from trying to influence Dusty concerning not putting you in during tight save situations. He wasn't listening to me anyway - and my wife was looking at me strangely for reasoning with no one in particular.

Northside Report Player of the game...

The game ball goes to Matt Clement for a fine game tossed against the Cardinals. He pitched 7 strong innings and allowed only 3 hits (2 of them homers) and 3 walks, improving to 6-3 for the season with this victory. One or two folks from the Cubs blog Army have been imprudently talking about trading Clement in the last few weeks (probably thinking that the Cubs can't or won't resign him due to the fact that he is likely going to command a hefty salary after this season) and I think that would be an absolute tragedy. Clement has been rock solid this year - and he and Zambrano have kept the wheels on this enterprise in the absence of Prior and now Wood. I think Clement is a key part of this lineup, and I'd do everything possible to keep this rotation together - they are going to win a lot of games together if we can just keep them together.

The next month is crucial...

The next month (May 25th - July 4th) is absolutely crucial for the Cubs - here's how 31 of the next 38 games shapes up: 12 games against the Astros (24-19), 7 games against the Cardinals (23-21), 3 games against Anaheim (29-15), 3 games against Oakland (25-18), and 6 games against the White Sox (25-18). Every single one of these games is going to be difficult - and it will be interesting to see where the Cubs find themselves in the standings by the 4th of July. This is the critical juncture of the season and a playoff berth may either be seriously helped or hindered in the next month. Hopefully Woody, Prior, and Sosa will be back from the DL for most of these games because they are going to be desperately needed. The bad news is that Woody felt some soreness in a simulated game early Sunday and is doubtful for this Friday's doubleheader against Pittsburgh. Hopefully he will be ready by the St Louis series Monday June 7th - I would rather have him pitch against the Cardinals than the Pirates anyway - let Maddux, Rusch, and Mitre (hopefully matched up against either Fogg or Vogelsong) pitch against the Bucs.

Camden - We're counting on you buddy...

I may be out of commission for the next two weeks since my family and I are taking a vacation in Florida and I don't know how much access I''l have to the internet. Hopefully my compadre, Camden, will pick up the slack and keep up at least semi-regular posts - although he is getting married on Saturday June 4th - so I'll understand if he can't get around to posting. So if we aren't posting anything, check back after June 4th when I return.

Auf Wiedersehen!